Park’s student council recently began releasing details about this year’s prom, one being the date: Saturday, May 11. Early to mid-May dates are very typical for prom, but with many juniors and seniors taking multiple AP tests in May, some controversy has arisen. While student council didn’t have much choice with their date options, Park AP students are still upset about the final decision and the stress it may bring.
Cayden Kuss, a senior student council member, said the students in student council don’t have much control over the date of prom, rather they figure out the details of the actual event and the week leading up to it.
“We split into groups within our prom group to talk about ideas for themes. We made a form to send out to people to ask what they thought about the themes and then we made an official poll to take votes and pick a theme,” Kuss said. “Then after we have our theme, we start planning the pep fest, which has to do with whatever we’re doing, this year we’re doing staff versus student dodgeball, and we schedule little events during (the week) as well. I’m usually the front runner on the pep fest stuff so that’s kind of my job.”
Prom this year will be hosted at The Glass House in Minneapolis, a venue that is commonly used for weddings and other big events. According to student council advisor Emily Rennhak, the council advisors and school administration only have so much control over the date of prom because of these other events being scheduled.
“A lot of it is just traditionally when we held prom in the past, pretty much all high schools hold their prom in April or May — kind of the last month of school,” Rennhak said. “Along with that, we’re very limited on dates because of venue spaces. A lot of the venue spaces we looked at for prom are also wedding event spaces, so their dates are very very limited and we book them over a year in advance.”
Junior Estella Hughes said the date of prom could add a lot of stress to students registered to take AP tests in the weeks surrounding it. She said she wishes student council could’ve scheduled it differently.
“Just in general, (it’s) pulling up on finals and AP tests, so I think a lot of people are going to be very stressed out trying to study for those and also having to balance prom,” Hughes said. “I think they should’ve chosen a date either a lot earlier or later.”
According to Kuss, a decent amount of AP and IB tests are scheduled in the weeks before prom, and are only on weekdays, so the mid-May weekend prom date shouldn’t put too much extra stress on students.
“I actually don’t have AP tests this year, I did last year, this year I’m taking IB tests,” Kuss said. “There are lots of IB tests and AP tests, but usually they’re at the beginning of May (or) late April, and prom is on a Saturday so it shouldn’t be a problem for people.”
Hughes is currently enrolled in three AP classes and is registered to take the tests for all three just days before and after prom. She said the dates of these tests as well as other life events are going to make her weekend very stressful.
“Personally, it’s going to make my life really really really stressful because I also have a tournament that weekend, two AP tests that Friday and then one on Monday after prom. I’m going to be kind of dying a little bit,” Hughes said.
Rennhak said she hopes prom will end up being a good experience for students despite the unfortunate timing.
“Students haven’t been complaining to me about it or raising concerns about it, but looking at the AP schedule myself, I know that a lot of my students will have three AP or IB tests right before prom,” Rennhak said. “That means they’re going to be having a pretty stressful week and then topping it off with a prom celebration. I hope that the prom celebration is a nice way to end the week, and it’s not an additional stressor.”
